David Jones will be acquired by private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners.

The iconic retailer’s current owner, Woolworths Holdings Limited, and Anchorage Capital Partners entered into a binding agreement that will see Anchorage acquire the David Jones operating business.

David Jones is one of Australia’s leading omnichannel retailers, and the oldest continuously operated department store under its original name.Founded in 1838, it currently has 43 stores across Australia and New Zealand and employs 7500 people.

Anchorage is one of Australia’s leading private equity firms with extensive experience in retail and consumer investments over 25 years. It has fully backed Scott Fyfe as David Jones CEO, together with his management team, and plans to contribute their financial investment to accelerate the company’s existing Vision 2025 strategy.The deal is expected to complete by the end of March 2023.Interestingly, the deal is not expected to include the department store’s flagship store.

David Jones had been delivering sales above pre-Covid levels. Trade in the prior period was impacted by the extended lockdowns, resulting in relatively higher growth rates in the current period compared to the prior period. David Jones’ turnover and concession sales increased by 55 per cent for the period.